Means for driving hydraulic turbines.



PATENTED DEC. 10, 1907.

c; HERSOHEL. I MEANS B0 DRIVING HYDRAULIGTURBINES.

APPLICATION PILED APR.26, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

c IINVENTOR PATENTED 11m 10, 1907.

C. HERSOHEL.- MEANS FORYDRIVING HYDRAULIC TURBINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26. 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 III/11111111111111! llllllllllllll llllllf INVENTOR I flow/1g 6mm kurxmm MEANS FOR DRIVING HYDRAULIC TURBINES.

ILED

APPLICATION P APR.26, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

FIG'.5.

INVENTOR 1 3222 55155; I ff -14 fowwyx.

' CLEME NS 13 s e n ENE I w To all wh-cm'i m y concern.

'B e it knewnthat I, CLEMENS 'I n1is0nEii, a, crtrzen of the United States 'lresiding in- Glenridge m the county of Essex and State of New Jersey; have invented certain new and, useful Improvements in Means for Driv mg isa specification.

' The object of this invention is to'increesethe netfall or the effective pressure acting on a turbine water wheel by applying a suction to the discharge end of the turbine;' This-I- accomplish by causing wa'ter'passing'from an upper to a lower level to traverse asuet1Qn apparatuswherei'n a vacuum is pro'" "duced, whichfis applied to the 1 discharge of the. turbine 'to aecelerate the flowlthere through. Thusiwater' may be jutilizedwhich" v, weuldotherwise waste overthe dainfflor the 2 ter available ma beeppher'i to drive fewer turbines than by method heretofore used thils inoreesjng the ppwe -qutput' ofeech t rbi e; or, a cornbine tioncf these" two methods may he applied:

IAtiCoidiiig t my invention suction is lie plied to, the; discharge o'rific'es of hydra I turbines cone fl f h' pp a us c nf e' b il of l aipacity to] Mt a. quantity of water 'a'pproxi Y zm ly equal tort/hat of the -turbine discharge,; and a lproximetely" equal in height fof;lift mime fa tion illustrated,- the deh A acting; on the turbine, thus doubling the; o er of. the turbine findalso gaining the yaililableetijv'antage of a smaller i weightyofwheel s end size wheel-pit per g horse cwer., end v of ev higher sFeed ,-then"if an advanthe fa -'-increa,ser were notjuse :tage which is of speci al importance in'the freq ent, ce s. fZ.W Q-S used electrical generators by dire ct connection. j J I The, accompany ng drewmgsuilus'trate an embodimentofthe invent on.

on the down-streams gle of 9, Lim t; 2 1 a section on theline 22 of .Frg l F 1 g. "3 1s 'a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4' 551% 1'5 is a vert cal section shpyvi-ng. a simplified form of theappa-letus shows a part of'Eig. 27011 elar ger scale.

Referring-to theemb body f Water B; thei ever bcdies of-wateui; -1 The fpower-hous ing'Fydrauli'e 'lufbinee, of which the iol1oW'-.

1 increaser or suction? ap'para 1 throat to the qutietiififisvgratduell forming a cone OcdzG- mrnunicetr between the: thrdeitriPiend-the :Stl

duit L in any mannerw by an apparatus which I call? a 'all .increas'er.. This acts to pm'duce a'vecuurni hy the fiewlofwater through an expanding In the constructicmshoit th expands fro'm its airrl etiaitoj; a ,1 an tip-stream 'c-one Sgia-ndi cent-re mediate cone T and from f the?v tlircat it; e 'alni iexpends to Surrounding the thwrtt Bi ennu 'rior of thethroayt hy .size of holes threhgh tlbevtuhecm e-r Figure 1 is a-plen; of a turbuie inste lletion' or valve R shoyvn":

shins overt he :86; i L

approximate \tetifiet ntelin- -ing,- for example', Wi F operated bydirechtn cc th eur'tur- "blllGS G. Eaeh tnrh nje e ves ter from a 'penstock H- andidisel condhit such. asithafl.

ferred,.i'0rn1.:of 'suehxeppam't H P.

adven B and discharging dbcchtla Tar-tater; 3 T s conduit, ahe'suitehle p0 in i112j1QIlgth, is Contractedtoform 18:?1311-11081333; encli fQQIlllj-thiS X98111 ed heliebii .t-he i ,ncuuni cre ated in the 'threatchy the i fii wtl teugh the increasing section otat'he; tub 1 Belle 0 is communicated througllatheg con dnit L; to the discharge orifices eiflithetturhilles.

rein:

to the throat P firming/an kite he ad -availah 1e ht the 4'(tmitpeinwhetfiier the faH-increes'er me regulated to nif'tr oiini'eeutlief ramp I we: zflihe'wer trance 1S of 'w'ater hy' providing, anixietdeqflgu e size for the opening a and w ithe jtroirisionix a gate ticket? geteirevolvj 11g on a die-metrical controlled nn giccessihle 'handie erj g iateth ii With the expand ng cone; the wet (passing from a tub ies'es'fit'elocitynendiiiswhiter-m1 r I v ngeethreughe draft tube 3; According-9Qvthfihetetofpre eceipt- "ed method, the draft: tubes isvelocity of the operating wateris increased to the proper throat velocity while maintainingdts uniform distribution. The use of the expanding and contracting cones S and T s optional, it being only essential to pro vide a suitable volume of water passing through the contracted throat with sufficient velocity,v In the construction shown a means forreg'ulating the volume and distribii'tion of the water traversing the throat is provided, consisting of a central tube U (cylindrical or' conicaUJfixed concentrically in the cone T, its down-streamend coming adjacent to the throat, and its up-stream end. being furnished with a valve or wicket gate.

V, or with any suitable means for symmet rically controlling the flow of water through,

the tube Uwherebyto control the volume of water passing througih' the throat. What evenb'e the specific construction of'the conduit M, the essential operation is that the may be applied.

' bevariously proportioned and applied. For

-water flowing through-this conduit creates a sucking action in the throat which draws water from the suction conduit L and the sum of this water and theoperating water flows from the throat through the main suction cone 0 of the increaser whichexpands" to the outlet. The sucking .action; is .due both to the contracted throat and to the ex:- panding cone. The property; of such a gradually expanding tube is' that it causes a'n'ef 'fective and powerful-suction at-the throat which, "acting through-the holes thereat, will,

efiicaciously exhaust the discharge of the turbine or turbines to which the increaser Fi 5 shows a fall increaser reduced to-its sim-p e and elementary form, H being the penstock, G the turbine, L the turbine discharge, 'M the fall inereaser conduit, P the water flowing through the fall increaser is controlled by a suitable valve or gate R at the admission-enda. The fall-increaser mayexample it'm'ay, with low falls, be made to double approximately the fall "which would otherwise act upon the turbines. Under approximately the fall acting on the turbine suitable conditions the fall maybe increased by an eiiective fall of some25 ft. I have in experiments with large tubes (in one -case' one foot and in another nine feet in diameter at the outlet) obtained a vacuum equal to 25.5 feet of. water column-atthe throat of. 's'uchfjtu'be's; .Sueh'inereasers may be'usedmerely vto remove the efiects of backwater, during floods, by passing some ofthe water otherwise wastin over-the" dam through such increasers. may be rendered by them, by their doubling pass through it from the ut a still greater service wheels to be set, throughout the year; thus 86 prescribing the setting of approximately onl alf the number of turbine wheels which would otherwise become necessary, and producing .a materially reater speed on the'tur-- bine main shafts of t e lesser number of turbines to be set, as well as reducing the. size and weight per horse-power of these turbines, and the size of the wheel-pit and owerhouse needed; all with approximate y the same discharge of water froffi'th'e upper into the tail-water level.

Althoughl have shown several turbines and several fall increasers-connected through a suction conduit L, it is nevertheless to be. understood that one or any greater number of turbines may be combinedwith one or any greater number offall increasers; and that the turbines may be set as close to the vacuum chamber of the fall increasers as is practicable, or may be removed to any dc sirable distance therefrom, as local conditions will prescribe. The in'creaser may be built of concrete, brick, wood, or. other material, withthe finer artsat and adjacent to the throat of meta My invention renders it unnecessary to carry the discharge tubes J from-"the turbines into the tail-race but ,to provide against the possibility of any derangement of the. fall increaser, lt'is desirable'tp carry the; discharge tubes J into the tail-race and to provide means for ordi- 1' nari'ly 'closing their communication .therewith'but which in an l emergency, may be opened to discharge directly into the tails race. For'this purpose the tubes J. may be '100 closed at their. lower ends bya valve or gate N A similar gate maybe applied as shown at W for closin communication from the; conduit L to eac of the fall-increasers. f

increase the power of a turbineby iverting some ofthe water which wo'uldotherwise V enstock, and carrying this water through ay-pasS around i the turbine and dischargingit into-the discharge tube after the manner'of an ejector," whereby it was expected that the water thus diverted would becomemore effective in its"v action u on the turbine than'if it had been assed t ough the turbine in the usual way.

y. my system I ,diver't- 110-Water out of :the

penstock which feeds the turbinepand pass "'throughf this'penstock' only water intended .to pass" through-theturbine; and 'I utilize surplus water. which would otherwise go to. waste bypassing it through a separate channel or pipe wherein it is caused to generate a vacuumfwhich vacuum is applied to and connected with the discharge outlet of the turbine, so as toapply thereto a certain measure of suction, t we producing an accol- Jerationpof flow,and consequently the same increase of power generat-ed'bv the turbine,

I am aware that it has. been pro 'osed to 10 as would accompany, anincreas'e'of-"fall rep-' resented by the amount of vacuum -ap lied which is thus added-to thenatural'fall, eing the difference between the level of water at" the dam, and that at the tail-race. -By my invention this vacuum is created not by anymere" induction action such as occurs. when I one stream .ofifiuidjflows against another, but

by utilizing the negative pressure produced by the flow of water through an expanding conduit under a considerable velocity head and at a low static head. This result is accomplished in my fall-increaser by applying a vacuum chamber around the throat of the suction conduit, such chamber communi eating with said throat by numerous orifices through which the water drawn from the turbine is sucked into the throat.

The low efiiciency of ejector devices operating by the induction of one stream flowing against another, renders them unsuitable in my opinion to the production ofa vacuum on the discharge side of a turbine, for-the purpose of increasing the power thereof. The adequate efficiency of my fall increaser for this purpose, on the other hand, is due in part to its beingied independently of the penstock, so that it does not diminish the efliciency of the turbine, by diverting water therefrom; and in part to the method followed of providing a vacuum box, of creating i vacuum in it, and of then allowing the turiine to discharge into this vacuum; and I form the vacuum referred to, by passing water through a suitably contracted throat, which communicates'by orifices of suitable arrangement and sufficient area with the vacuum box, whence is drawn into it, by the suction created. in the expanding cone, the

Thus the vacuum which results from the expansion of the ilowthrough the expanding cone, is directly communicated to the dis charge from the turbine, withthe same effect thereon as if the turbine were set in a situation aii'ording a fall greater than that actually existin by an amount equal to "the degree of vacuum created, expressed in feet of water column.

What I claim is 1. The combination of an elevated body or source of water, a turbine, a penstocl; leading from the former to the latter, and a fall-increaser consisting of a conduit separate from said penstock through which water may flow independently from said source to a lower level, said conduitcomprising a contracted portion or throat and an expanding ortion or cone extending thence toward the outlet, said throat having substantially continuous walls formed with suction orifices and a suction connection comnninicniing from said orifices to the discharge of the furbine, whereby the vacuum 'created in said fall-'increaser is transmitted to the turbinev with the eflect of increasing the-fall acting thereon. 3

2. As a means of counteracting the effect on a turbine of back-water during freshets, the combination with a dam forming an; elevated body or source offwater, a pens'tock and turbine, of a iall-incr'easer consisting "of a conduit separate from said enstock through -whi-ch'water may flow in ependently-from said source to a lower level, said conduit 0pm prising a contracted portion or throat an'dhs expanding portion or cone extending thence toward the outlet, said throat having substantially continuous walls formed with suction orifices, and a suction connection communicating from said orifices to the dis.-

charge of the turbine, and means for controlling the flow through said conduit,- whereby during high water surplus waterotherwise wasted over the .spillway can be turned through said-conduit with the efiect of increasing the fall acting on the turbine, and compensating for the diminution of fall due to back water. 1

3. The combination with a turbine, of a fall-increas'er consisting of a conduit through which water may pass from a higher to a lower level, said conduit expanding from its contracted portion or throat toward the out-- let, said throat having substantially continuous walls formed with suction orifices a vacuum chamber communicating with said the discharge of the turbine'and said vacuum chamber. f I

' a. The combination with a turbine and its pensto'ck, of a vacuum chamber into which the turbine discharges and aconduit through which watermay pass from a higher to .a

passing through said vacuum chainber and having orifices communicating herewith, and said conduit expanding from said throat toward the outlet, whereby is generated a suction causing the water to flow ataccelerated velocity through said throat and creating and maintaining a vacuum in said vacuum chamber. 5. The combination with a turbine, of a fall-increaser consisting of a conduit through which water may passfrom a higher to a lower level, said conduit expanding from its contracted portion or throat toward the outlet, said throat having substantially continuous walls formed with suction orifices a vacuum chamber surrounding said throat and communicating with it through said oriiicesg, and a suction connection between the discharge of the turbine and said vacuum chamber,and means for controlling the ilow of water through said fall incrca cr.

(a The combination with a turbine of a orifices, and a suction comrection between lower level comprising a contracted throat.

lower level, Contracted to form a throat and V expanded froinsaid throat to the outlet, and

fallinc reaser consisting of a conduit through from said th rest to the discharge of thetur- 10 which water may flow from a higher to a bine.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two suban inner tube mounted 'c'oncen' trically-in said scribing. witnesses, I conduit on the up-stream'side' of the'throat CLEMENS HERSCHEL. and terminating adjacent thereto, and Witnesses:

means for controlling 'theffiow of water THOMAS F. WALLACE, through sald tube, and a suctlon connectlon FRED WHITE. 

